I removed the head, but I don't really see any indication of a leaky head gasket. The head doesn't look to be cracked either.

If the valves are not sealing, what would be the issue? Springs? There looks to be a bit of debris in the 2 cylinders with low compression.

Maybe I'll just clean things up and reassemble.


Cylinder head - passenger side.

Cylinder No.2 and No.4.

Cylinder No. 4 and No. 6.

Engine bay.

 

Looking at these pictures more closely, I wonder if there was a leak between No.2 and No.4 next to the bolt.

 

It's not at all likely that head gasket was bad.
Your mistake was squirting oil in cylinders and pulling off that head. Now you have no way to diagnose. Put it all back together with new head/intake gaskets and get it running to burn the oil out of the cylinders. Then if you think you still have a problem - get a quality leak down tester and an air compressor and come back. PM me if/when you get back to that point and I will help.

The only thing you could do right now is to disassemble that head and check out the valves and valve guides for wear (but pulling the head was never necessary to accomplish this).

 

Would the valve guides affect compression? The machinist at the head shop said that the valve seats are flattened, and he felt they should be replaced with hardened seats. It would not be surprising if the valve guides are also worn.

I had new valve seals installed, cleaned the gasket surface, and fastened the head with a new Fel-pro gasket. Hopefully compression will come up a bit.

 

Machinist checked valve seats but not guides? That doesn't make any sense. A guide that lets a valve rock, quickly wears out the valve seat - plus does not seal due to rocking on the seat. But you don't have to take the head off to check them.

Seems that obsessing over compression readings is causing you a lot of expense and work. How many times did you test each of the cylinders (consistency)? Did you follow a bad one with a good one? How many puffs? Fully charged battery? Lots of things can cause variations in compression readings including a fauty gauge.

Still waiting to hear you have the leak down tester and air compressor. I recommend the Longacre.

Put it together and get it running. Get the leakdown tester and we will diagnose it. Are you prepared for a new/different engine or up to $2500+ in parts/machine work to fix this vehicle? If not, don't take it apart.